USPTO Director John Squires issued a revised order on October 9 that vacated a Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) Final Written Decision involving U.S. Patent No. 11,488,451. The PTAB had determined that all challenged claims of the patent were unpatentable. The Director's revised decision sets aside that outcome, according to IPWatchdog.
Director review has become a notable checkpoint for PTAB rulings, and this order shows that even a completed Final Written Decision can be revisited. Because the PTAB had sided with the petitioner on every challenged claim, the vacatur is a significant procedural turn. IPWatchdog reports that the decision raises broader questions for PTAB petitioners.
Those questions may include how petitioners should account for the possibility of Director review after a successful PTAB trial, and what standards govern revised orders that overturn Board findings. For now, the vacatur leaves the patent proceeding unsettled and gives challengers another factor to weigh in PTAB strategy.